“Why are you so desperate to ship me with other people? The people in your guild are desperate to ship me with you.”
“You think we’re doing that because we’re desperate? What do you take us for…”
Gyeongjin spoke up on behalf of the guild members, complaining about how busy they were, his voice full of indignation. Sa-yoon, who had been debating whether to bring out the cage, stopped his thoughts at the sound of Geon-joo’s complaint-filled voice and blinked slowly. His gaze drifted unconsciously toward Jaehee.
“……”
When their eyes met, Lee Jaehee looked away awkwardly, lowering his head.
Well, look at this.
Anyone could see he was avoiding his gaze, and Sa-yoon’s eyebrows shot up.
Is he avoiding me?
After offering his help and advice so freely before, it was infuriating to be ignored now just for looking at him a few times, as if to say, “figure it out yourself.”
If he was going to act like this, why did he even help me in the first place?
As he was seized by an indescribable sense of betrayal and indignation, a hollow laugh pierced his ears. Though the sound was light, it felt as forceful as if someone had driven a spike into his skull and hammered it down. His eyes rolled to the side.
“You’re looking at him again.”
The man with the twisted smile came into view at the edge of his vision. Sa-yoon’s gaze hardened on Geon-joo, who was glaring back at him, completely unbothered by the chastising look. In an instant, the atmosphere froze.
No, it wasn’t just the atmosphere that froze.
“Boss, Boss…!”
A layer of frost was creeping across the floor of the torture villa.
The Aura of Frost, using its master as a host, radiated outward, blanketing the entire basement. Gyeongjin panicked as his shoes began to freeze over. His urgent calls snapped Sa-yoon back to his senses. Realizing what was happening, Sa-yoon swore.
Fuck, when did this get out?
The Aura of Frost being unleashed on its own meant that for a moment, his ability had slipped from his control. He hadn’t been hit by a surprise attack, nor was his mana depleted, yet he had failed to control his power. Puzzled, Sa-yoon tilted his head. Gyeongjin shot up from his spot.
“I’m going to kill all the bastards who said a lovers’ quarrel is like cutting water with a knife.”¹
Muttering grimly like a true member of a criminal guild, Gyeongjin untied himself and grabbed Lee Jaehee’s arm.
“Let’s leave those two to fight it out and make a run for it. I think we’re about to get caught in the crossfire.”²
His expression was quite serious as he pleaded, insisting they’d both get crushed if they stayed. Lee Jaehee, listening, looked equally serious.
A sneer escaped Sa-yoon’s lips as he watched the scene unfold like a comedy sketch. What a bat. He had no idea when Lee Jaehee had replaced him as Gyeongjin’s boss. Sa-yoon looked at Gyeongjin, who was boldly declaring his escape right in front of him, and opened his mouth.
“Gyeongjin.”
“Hyung.”
But a voice immediately followed, refusing to let his attention be diverted. Seizing the timing, Gyeongjin yelled, “Fighting poison with poison is a victory!”³, then hoisted Lee Jaehee up and bolted. It took them less than ten seconds to escape the torture villa.
If only he moved that fast when he was working.
Following their absurd escape with his eyes, Sa-yoon faced the closed door, then turned back to Geon-joo with a scowl.
“Pretty boy. Because of you, my reputation…”
“Is that what’s important right now?”
The way he cut him off was practiced and sharp. Having experienced this several times before, Sa-yoon easily intuited that the man before him was angry. At the same time, his own irritation flared.
That bastard smiles so sweetly at everyone else, so why is he only like this with me?
He had seen Han Geon-joo act prickly with others, but never truly angry. Yet, he showed Sa-yoon his anger more often than he showed him a smile, and it made him feel like his mood was being ground into shit. It felt indescribably awful.
He couldn’t tell if he was being looked down on or just ignored. A sigh escaped his red lips.
“What is it now?”
He was startled by the words that came out of his own mouth. The tone was something straight out of a TV drama. It was the same way of speaking used by a couple in a soap opera he and Jongsik had been hooked on a couple of years ago, a couple who had spent seven years fighting, breaking up, and getting back together. It felt as if he had learned their speech patterns. It seemed the feeling of being utterly fed up that he was experiencing now was similar to what he’d felt watching that drama.
“What about you…” Geon-joo began, his voice tight as if he were suppressing a shout before he shook his head. “Who’s calling who a child?” a small mutter escaped the man’s lips. It was meant to be a whisper, but it was clearly directed at him. With his S-rank hearing, there was no way he wouldn’t have heard a voice that loud.
“Who do you think you’re talking to like that?”
“Aren’t you tired of it?”
“What?”
“Aren’t you tired of arguing with me like this every single time?”
The question came just as he was viscerally experiencing the meaning of weariness, and his face contorted. He made a blatant expression of disgust, and Han Geon-joo pushed the soup bowl away.
“Why do you keep making the same misunderstanding? It’s so annoying. Are you a hamster or something, running on the same wheel over and over? Is it a hobby?”
“What misunderstanding?”
“You’ve been misunderstanding for a year now.”
“What is it? Will you speak so I can understand you?”
“Why do you always talk down to me? Am I really a child?”
“Well, if you’re not a child, what are-”
This little punk.
Sa-yoon’s voice cut off as Geon-joo squeezed his eyes shut as if he didn’t want to hear any more. Instead, it was the ferocious Aura of Frost that raged.
“Right, I’ve been too easy on you lately.”
That bastard only comes to his senses after being periodically dunked in water. Re-confirming that Han Geon-joo’s temper was water-soluble, Sa-yoon stood with a hardened expression, channeling his frost aura into one spot when Geon-joo’s mouth opened.
“Go ahead and trap me with your power. I’ll never see your face again.”
“I can just cut off your head and keep it,” the reply shot back instantly. Geon-joo turned to look at Sa-yoon, his eyes widening as if in disbelief. For a moment, they remained in a standoff. It was Han Geon-joo who broke it, his brow furrowing.
“What, what kind of person says that?”
As if dumbfounded, he jumped to his feet in a fit of temper. The tableware he kicked as he stood up went clattering across the floor. I thought the mood was fine just a moment ago when he was eating that. I don’t know how it ended up like this, Sa-yoon thought, trying to replay the situation.
“You should try to meet me halfway too.”
“……”
“No, I’m not even asking you to meet me halfway. Can’t you just listen to me properly? I asked you why you were making that misunderstanding. Why are we fighting again?”
“Who told you to talk back to me so sharply? Where did you learn to argue like that?”
“Fuck, treating me like a child again. This is what I hate… It’s so frustrating. What do you want me to do?”
“Fuck?”
At the repeated word, Han Geon-joo bit his lip. He looked like he had a lot to say, but paradoxically, he clamped his mouth shut. After fuming for a moment, he slumped back into his seat. Sa-yoon had expected him to storm out, so it was an unexpected reaction.
“Kkondae.”⁴
Sa-yoon’s eyebrow twitched at the small mumble. Before he could retort, the man beat him to it, pouring out his words.
“I’m trying to adjust to everything for you. I make what you like my standard, I try to read your mood, I try to please you, but why won’t you even think about adjusting for me? I told you before. Can’t you just ask me first? Or at least listen to what I have to say? It’s the same this time. Was I the one who got annoyed first? No, I was dumbfounded. Because you were making a goddamn misunderstanding.”
He poured out his words like someone with a deep-seated grudge, with enough force to make frost appear in mid-summer. Sa-yoon clicked his tongue as he thought back on their conversation. Come to think of it, though the bastard’s words were impudent, he had been saying the same thing over and over.
“What did I misunderstand?”
“You talked as if I liked that person, Yen. If it were just this once, I’d let it go, but do you see me as some fickle bastard? Why do you keep misunderstanding me with a different person every time? The fact that you misunderstand it in the first place is ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous? I misunderstand because you act in a way that invites misunderstanding. Now you’re blaming me for it?”
“I acted in a way that invites misunderstanding? What did I do?”
“You ask what they do, or you keep staring at them.”
A bone-chilling silence fell between them. Eyes showing nothing but bewilderment and disappointment looked at Sa-yoon before dropping to the floor.
“You’re misunderstanding me over something like that?”
With a look of disbelief, the man swept his hair back, let out a few laughs, and then stood up.
“You shouldn’t have made the question your starting point in the first place. You should have looked at why I asked, or who made me concerned enough to stare. How can a person live without even that much sense?”
“What?”
Sa-yoon had had enough. He rose from his seat as well, but just as he was about to take a step, Han Geon-joo cried out in frustration.
“It was all because of you! I asked because I was curious about you, I stared because I was worried about you, I acted that way because of you, so how could you misunderstand it like that?”
“Then what, fucker, do you like me? Is that it?”
“……”
A conversation that even high school kids wouldn’t have just took place. Fuming, Sa-yoon had just blurted out whatever came to mind. He took in a ragged breath and blinked. Han Geon-joo, who had fallen silent, glared at him before striding past him with wide steps.
“You figure it out yourself.”
The man spoke, his voice dripping with exhaustion and petulance, then opened the door through which Yen, Gyeongjin, and Jaehee had disappeared and was gone. Left alone in the basement, Sa-yoon let out a sharp breath. In the end, their conversation was cut short without him ever getting to take out the specially made cage.
“That bastard… he’s on my mind when I see him, and he pisses me off when I don’t…”
Scowling at his own absurdity, he unleashed the frost aura he had been gathering in a single, explosive burst of frustration.
CRASH!
The iron door of the basement slammed shut.
“Whoa…”
Yen, who had returned with a premonition that something interesting was about to happen, let out a sound of awe from behind the iron door.